Castel Dell'Ovo

The Castel dell'Ovo ("Egg Castle" in English) is a seaside castle located in the Gulf of Naples, off the shore of the city of Naples in southern Italy. It was named after a story involving the Roman poet Virgil, who was believed to be a sorcerer; he placed an egg in the castle, and if the egg cracked, the fortifications would fall.

History
A medieval castle located on the former island of Megaride, the Castel Dell'Ovo is named for a legendary Roman poet who was believed to be a great sorcerer. Legend tells us that he placed a magical egg in the structure's foundation to support it. The original edifice was a fortified villa where the last Roman Emperor, Romulus Augustus, was exiled in 476. The castle's island became a peninsula as the water around it shrunk, and it housed a drydock where the naval cannon invention of Leonardo da Vinci was kept in 1503. That year, it was destroyed after sinking a few Papal Navy ships in the harbor.